Husband of Saskatchewan woman charged in human smuggling operation, is one of three people arrested in U.S.

REGINA — Last Friday evening, as Mounties arrested a Saskatchewan woman as part of a human smuggling investigation, U.S. border patrol agents moved in on the woman’s husband, a Nigerian citizen and another Canadian on the North Dakota side of the border.

So far, authorities have declined to release many details about the suspected smuggling operation. But a senior U.S. border official said Thursday the growing numbers of migrants seeking to jump the border has everyone on high alert.

“It’s on everybody’s radar,” said Alan Zeitvogel, acting division chief of operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

On Wednesday, authorities announced that Michelle Omoruyi, 43, of Regina, was facing human smuggling charges after she was stopped by RCMP last Friday evening driving a vehicle near the border with nine foreign nationals from West Africa.

The nine individuals had bypassed formal channels, entering the country instead somewhere between the North Portal and Northgate ports of entry.

They subsequently filed refugee claims and were released from CBSA custody pending the outcome of their refugee hearings.

The following day, police searched a home in Regina and found a significant amount of cash — some in foreign currency, RCMP said.

Over a four-month investigation, “the (Canada Border Services Agency) uncovered evidence to suggest suspected smugglers were allegedly bringing foreign nationals into Canada from the United States by facilitating their illegal crossing between designated ports of entry,” Jason Evert, a CBSA assistant director, told reporters Wednesday.

Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday in a statement that around the time Mounties intercepted Omoruyi and the nine passengers, their own agents apprehended two Canadian citizens and a Nigerian citizen on the North Dakota side of the border between the North Portal and Northgate ports of entry.

Postmedia has confirmed one of those individuals is Michelle Omoruyi’s husband, Victor Omoruyi, 40. He was being held Thursday at the Grand Forks County Correctional Center.

The identities of the other two — a man and a woman — could not be verified, but Zeitvogel confirmed all three were still in custody and charges were still pending.

“These apprehensions were the direct result of a combined effort which included the United States Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations, Burke County Sheriff’s Office, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canada Border Services Agency,” the CBP statement said.

It is not known how many other people may be connected to the suspected smuggling operation. The charges against Omoruyi have not been proven in court.

According to new federal data, the number of asylum seekers caught crossing the border irregularly during the first three months of this year climbed nationwide from 315 in January, to 658 in February, to 887 in March. Most cases occurred in Quebec, Manitoba and B.C.